The present invention relates to an electric connection for an element which is arranged in a liquid-carrying component and from which at least one electric line leads to an outside contact of a plug housing which is held in a frame of the component.
An electric connection of the above-mentioned type is particularly required for a heating element used to heat a thermostatic working element of a thermostatic valve of a cooling system of a motor vehicle engine. A conventional constructive solution consists of connecting the electric lines leading away from the heating element to contacts which are contained in a plug housing. The plug housing is inserted into a frame of a housing or of a line with the insertion of a sealing ring. If the housing is made of metal, the frame is normally flanged around a collar-shaped stop of the plug housing so that the plug housing is held in the frame. If the housing is made of a plastic material, a conventional solution consists of welding the plug housing, which is also made of plastic, together with the frame. These constructions require relatively high expenditures, particularly if the housing has a relatively complicated shape and the frame is not easily accessible.
There is therefore needed an electric connection of the above-mentioned type which is easy to mount, even if the component has a complicated shape and the frame is not easily accessible from all sides.
These needs are met according to the present invention in that the plug housing is held in the frame using a bow-shaped spring which is fitted laterally from the outside onto the frame. The frame is provided with recesses into which the legs of the spring project and in the process, in each case, the legs of the spring reach over a stop of the plug housing.
A connection of this type according to the invention is easy to establish and, particularly also in the case of a complicated shape of the component, such as a housing, a pipe, or the like, and in the case of a poorly accessible frame, is easy to mount. This is because it is not required that the frame be accessible from all sides for mounting the bow-shaped spring. Since the bow-shaped spring is fitted on from one side, it is sufficient that the frame is accessible only from this one side for the mounting of the bow-shaped spring.
In a further embodiment of the present invention, the legs of the spring are in each case provided with a right-angle bend directed to the interior of the frame and which engage in the recesses of the frame. It is therefore ensured that the bow-shaped spring cannot become detached in an automatic manner.